Drexel University, located in the University City area of Philadelphia, promotes their motto “Ambition Can’t Wait” throughout campus.

On a rainy morning, I arrived at Drexel’s campus. Drexel is known for their strong co-op program, where students complete either one or three 6-8 month internships during the course of their university career, which positions students well to enter the workforce with a strong resume and real-world experience. I learned during my visit that 80% of students opt to do three internships and graduate in 5 years, and that over 80% of the internships are paid.

But in addition to co-op, Drexel has many other attributes that make the school unique. I was interested to hear about some of their accelerated degree programs, where you can earn a BS and MS in 5-years in fields such as business (MBA), Physical Therapy, Information Systems, and Biomedical Engineering. They also have an 8 year combined BS/MD program, which is highly selective. Drexel’s honors college, allows accepted students to have priority housing, as well as priority for faculty research and volunteer trips.

Drexel has 15 different schools, including engineering, business, media arts and design, entrepreneurship, and computing and informatics. For students who have a clear sense of what they want to study, and want an urban campus, Drexel is definitely worth exploring. This was echoed during the information session I attended, where it was stated that admissions is really looking for students who have a demonstrated interest in the program they are applying for.